Voices from the past

“You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”  John 8:32

I’ve been thinking about the 50^th anniversary of the March on Washington, which will happen on August 28^th.  I’ve been listening to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech on YouTube and letting his words of freedom and justice sink into my bones.

I’ve been pondering how far we’ve come as a country since the dark days of 1963 when African Americans countered blatant racism and bigotry in many areas of America.

There has been some economic progress, though the levels achieved are vastly different when you poll Caucasians and African Americans.

I am afraid I do not have much exposure to the African American community, either growing up or as an adult. I do have some exposure to the Japanese American community, mainly in San Diego, CA where I grew up.

Japanese Americans were denied their civil rights during World War Two. My scout master, Bill Hata, was kept in an internment camp in Idaho as a boy during the war. I do not know if he harbored any resentment against the United States for locking him and his family up because the government feared attacks by persons of Japanese ancestry.

I do know that Bill Hata was a man of deep Christian faith who was an attentive and caring scout master to BSA Troop 258. I do know that he served his country faithfully as a civilian contractor for the United States Navy. I do know that he taught his scouts never to forget the lessons of history.

So on the 50^th anniversary of the March on Washington D.C., I will be in a pensive mood, thinking about how some of my fellow citizens of the United States were denied their civil rights. I will give thanks for lessons I have learned from people like Bill Hata about fear, retribution, justice, and peace making. I will pray to God and thank God for people who expose racism and bigotry. I will reflect on the fact that my country has not always treated its citizens fairly and justly, which in turn should cause me to turn to God for forgiveness and healing.